In a search for the perfect place

Interview was done by Milan Zalezak
Most of the photos are taken by Tomas Dobrovic around the World
The story of young Slovak ex-volunteer, who is living his dream
Tomas is young Slovak man with one big dream. He wants to find the ideal place to spend the rest of his life there. Never mind the distances, he is ready to search for the magic place everywhere in the world.

His journey would even the famous Jack Kerouac with his „On the road“ novel made jealous. And it all started with volunteering trough EVS at Mladiinfo Center in Skopje, Macedonia.

Tomas, you are now more than a year permanently on the road, without any break. How did your „Kerouac story“ begin?

- I always liked traveling, but in the past I didn`t have that much time. After i finished my university, I got the job in Bratislava, the Slovakian capital. I was monitoring the market for one company. Classic nine-to-five job, nothing very interesting. Actually, I didn`t want to stay there for a long time and the funny thing is that when I decided to leave, they cancelled our branch office. I received some compensation money and was free to do anything I wanted to. With some friends we traveled trough the whole Balkan and we had really great time, so I decided to come back. That was the first time I visited Macedonia. Coincidentally, exactly in the same time I discovered offer from Mladiinfo. I applied for it and they accepted me as a volunteer at Mladiinfo center in Skopje. That is how my volunteer episode begun.

What are your memories of the EVS life in Skopje?

- Only the best. I met many great people there, made new friendships, which I suppose will last for the lifetime. I have found out how does the work in the NGO looks like and got in touch with many other NGOs, which is very useful. Thanks to Mladiinfo I went to some trainings and conferences and found out about possibilities for young people, which I am sure without Mladiinfo I would never heard of. It really helped me to make another step forward in my life. And of course, I traveled a lot during my EVS period. I hitchhiked trough the Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo and enjoyed some unforgettable moments. The project lasted for nine month, but I stayed in Macedonia almost for eleven month. I came back home for couple of days after the end of the project, then returned back to Skopje. That was in late summer 2011 and since then I am practically all the time on the road.